Ladybug Stitches
by Dongyrn
Summary: Ruby is devastated when her precious red cloak is damaged in a fight with Grimm, but Blake knows just what to do. Ruby/Blake (Ladybug). Sequel to Strawberry Lemonade and the twelfth in my fluffy Lemonade series of stories.


**Standard Disclaimer:** All rights belong to those whose rights they belong to, primarily the glorious minds at Rooster Teeth, though quite namely not me. Don't own a thing.

* * *

Abigail Dove had lived in her birthplace of Vale for many years. Eighty-some years had passed, though who really kept track of the years anyway, and yet still she was working in the same shop her mother did, and her mother's mother before her.

Miss Dove, as all of her customers called her, was one of the few seamstresses in Vale who did all of her work by hand. According to her, it made for much finer, meticulous repairs. Her clients varied from upper-class debutantes to working-class laborers and a rainbow of society in between, but they all received the same loving care of the clothes they entrusted to her.

She supposed she'd still be sewing when they came to cart her off to an old folk's home, not that she'd ever let them carry her away. She loved her job and she loved her little store, full of bright cloths and threads and clothing samples.

It was true, she supposed, that a person could visit one of the more automated shops and have their mending done faster and for the same amount of money. But those who visited her knew the value of her work and her dedication.

She was sitting at her usual sewing table, perched on the edge of her favorite chair, and working on the blouse of one of the professors up at Beacon. Her spectacles were pushed up into her steely-grey hair, closely curled to her scalp with not a strand out of place, while the sleeves of her green dress were pushed up to allow her strong fingers unhindered range of movement. The needle in her hands flashed in the late afternoon light as it darted in and out.

The elderly seamstress sighed contentedly as she sat back and held the article of clothing up for inspection. Not a stitch out of place, and the original tear was completely invisible.

She was humming to herself cheerfully as she placed the garment on a hanger, standing up to place it on the rack nearby already filled with other articles of clothing, when the front door bell chimed.

Two girls walked into her shop, one with raven hair and a bow on the top of her head, while the other, smaller one had short dark red hair and was clutching a red bundle in her arms as if she were cradling a wounded animal.

"Well, hello there," she said pleasantly. "My name is Miss Dove, what may I do for you young ladies?"

"Um, hello," the smaller girl began hesitantly. "We were, well… I was hoping you could help me?"

"That's what I'm here for, dearie. Do you need something mended?"

"I do, yeah," she murmured, staring down at the bundle in her arms. "It's…" She sniffled slightly as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

The taller girl placed a comforting hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Her cloak got torn in our last fight with Grimm," she explained softly. "It's very precious to her, as it's all she has left of her mother."

"Oh, my," Miss Dove exclaimed, shuffling around the corner of the table. "Well then, rest assured I will treat it with the utmost care. May I see it?"

She held her hands out and waited for a good half a minute before the small redhead reluctantly extended her hands, though she seemed unwilling to actually release her grasp on the material.

"Ruby, you have to let go of it," the raven-haired girl admonished gently. "Let her see it."

"Right, right… I'm sorry, Blakey, I'm such a mess…" She sniffled again as she let go, pulling her arms in to wrap around her middle. "I'm getting all upset over a cloak…"

"But I know what it means to you," the other girl murmured reassuringly as the seamstress returned to her sewing table, cloak in hand. "You don't need to apologise."

"Alright then," Miss Dove sighed as she sat back down, carefully spreading out the red cloak. "Let's see… Hmm, yes it's a rather nasty tear there, but I can fix it up quickly enough…" She peered over the glasses she had slipped back down on her nose. "Now, I understand how special this is to you, young miss. Why don't the two of you have a seat across from me here while I work on it right now? I'll go get another chair from in back…"

"Oh, thank you so much, Miss Dove!" the smaller girl gushed, a hopeful expression on her face. "But don't worry about another chair, I can just sit on Blakey's lap."

The raven-haired girl laughed softly as she sat first, pulling the other down and nuzzling her neck. "Does that mean you want cuddles, Little Gem?"

"I _always_ want cuddles from my Blakey," the redhead cooed in reply, leaning back with a soft smile.

Miss Dove chuckled as she bent over her selections of thread, holding a few samples up against the cloak's fabric. "It's so nice to see a young couple in love."

Both girls shot her happy grins. "Well, we are at that!" the smaller girl replied brightly. "Oh, my name's Ruby, and this is my girlfriend Blake."

"It's a pleasure to meet the two of you," Miss Dove replied solemnly, holding one more sample up before sighing. "However, I do have some unfortunate news. I'm unable to match the fabric exactly."

"Oh, no," Ruby moaned, her earlier cheer evaporated. "Does that mean it's gonna have an ugly scar?"

With a twinkle in her eye, the elderly seamstress sat back down and eyed the pair of teenagers. "Have either of you heard of a practice called Kintsukuroi?"

The girls glanced at each other before shaking their heads in the negative.

"Well, it's not as popular out here in Vale, but it originated in Vacuo. It predates the discovery of dust, actually." She leaned back in her chair and pushed her spectacles back up on her forehead. "You see, Kintsukuroi is the understanding that a piece, such as pottery or clothing, is more beautiful for having been broken. Much as a person would wear their scars with pride. And then what they do is to repair these breaks, or tears, or cracks, with either gold or silver, creating an even more beautiful look."

Ruby's silver eyes were wide as she digested the tale. "Wow… That does sound kinda cool…"

"I don't think we have the lien for gold thread, though," Blake commented lightly.

"Well, no dear, and I don't have any actual gold thread on me, though I do have gold-colored… No, what I was thinking of is more subtle. A darker red that should be fairly invisible from a casual distance, but you could see upon closer inspection."

"I really like that idea, Miss Dove," the redhead said with a small smile. "Could you do that, then?"

"Indeed I shall. Shouldn't take me too long, let me just pick out the right thread…"

The old woman listened humorously to the couple as she searched through her supplies.

"Thanks for coming with me, Blakey, I really appreciate it."

"Well of course, why would I let you go alone?"

"It's just… I know I've been all moody and all since my cloak got torn…"

"Mmhmm. Weiss was commenting on how we'd been together for so long, you were starting to act more like me."

"Oh, I wasn't _that_ bad…" Her teasing cut off with a squeal as the raven-haired girl began tickling her ribs.

"So what are you trying to say, Ruby?" she asked with a grin.

"Ahahaha, no, Blakey, stop…!"

Blake halted her tickling to grab hold of the squirming girl tightly. "Yes?" she prompted.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby squeaked breathlessly.

The raven-haired girl smiled softly and leaned in to give her a quick peck on the lips. "You're forgiven," she replied sweetly.

"The two of you are so adorable," Miss Dove laughed as she regained her seat, thread spool in hand. "How long have you been together?"

"Um, for a few months now," Ruby replied with a wide smile.

"Only that long? Well, I can tell you have something special. I know about these things, you see."

"Oh? Do you have someone special, Miss Dove?" the redhead asked.

"Oh, my, yes. I've had three loves in my life." She gathered the cloak into her capable though calloused hands, and her fingers began to deftly fly back and forth, in and out as the needle did its work. "I've buried two husbands, and just remarried again ten years ago next month." She paused to glance at the smiling pair. "My wife, now, she's the most feisty of them all!"

The three of them shared a good chuckle as she resumed her work.

"Would you believe that, just as far back as when I was a child, society frowned upon two people of the same sex getting married, or even having relationships?" the elderly seamstress inquired.

"Really?" Ruby asked, her brow furrowed. "Why would they do that? Seems kinda silly."

"Well, back then there was a lot of fear and the like. Some folk tried to focus it into disparaging those who they thought to be having 'unnatural' relationships."

"Pfft," the redhead exclaimed. "What's more natural than love? I mean, love is love, right?"

"You are such a romantic," Blake murmured into her girlfriend's hair. "I can understand some of that, though… Society is the same way today about humans and Faunus being together."

"And that's also stupid," Ruby retorted hotly. "Buncha ignorant, idiotic, self-serving… idiots!"

"It's true, you can see some of the same ignorance today in such cases," Miss Dove commented, not looking up from her stitching. "I suppose that makes the two of you very brave, doesn't it?"

"Uhhh…" Ruby gaped.

Blake looked back at her, wide-eyed. "I'm not sure I know what you mean…" she stated half-heartedly.

"Oh, come now, dearie. I've seen your bow twitch, especially when you're snuggling with your cute girlfriend there." Miss Dove chuckled to herself. "No need to be coy around me."

They were silent for another minute or so before the diminutive redhead stirred.

"I don't think we're being brave," she spoke up in a small voice. "I love her, and that's all that matters."

The raven-haired Faunus tightened her hold around her girlfriend. "I love you too, Little Gem," she said softly her eyes shining with unshed tears. "And I give thanks every day that you do feel that way about me."

"Aw, how could I not, Blakey?" she grinned, craning her neck. "Destiny, remember?"

They gazed lovingly into each other's eyes long enough that Miss Dove barked out a quick laugh.

"Oh, just go ahead and kiss each other already, I'm not going to mind."

With a quick giggle they did just that. The elderly woman snuck a quick peek at them, smiling softly at the affection and love that poured from them into such a simple meeting of lips.

"There!" she exclaimed, causing the couple to break apart with a pair of startled _squeak_ s. "All done!"

Miss Dove stood and held the cloak up in front of her proudly as Ruby jumped up from her perch on Blake's lap.

"Oh my gosh," the redhead breathed. "It looks so cool! Look, Blakey, it's hardly even noticeable!"

As Blake got up to peer closer, there was a burst of rose petals, and Ruby suddenly reappeared by the front door. "And you can't tell at all from far away!" she exclaimed excitedly. Another burst of petals brought her in between the startled seamstress and the cloak itself. "Oooh, and the stitches on this side are different! Is the inner or the outer?"

"This is the inner part of the cloak," Miss Dover reassured her as she brought her arms down to settle the red cloak around its owner's shoulders. "The stitching is more obvious there, closer to your heart."

"It looks amazing," Blake reassured Ruby. "Thank you so much, Miss Dove."

"Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you!" the redhead squealed, turning to give the old woman a tight hug.

The seamstress barked out a quick laugh as she returned the hug. "You are most welcome, Ruby."

"How much do we owe you?" Blake asked, pulling out her wallet.

"Oh, don't worry about it, dearie. I was merely happy for the company."

"But we can't just accept this for free!" Ruby protested as she leaned back, her silver eyes wide and pleading.

Miss Dove chuckled and patted the small girl's head affectionately. "Oh, very well then… how about twenty lien?"

Blake pulled the money out of her wallet and handed it over. "I still have enough for us to stop by the bakery on the way back," she said with a humorous glint on her eyes.

"Really?" Ruby gasped. "Oh, this is the best day ever!"

The seamstress laughed as she waved to the two departing teens. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ruby and Blake."

"You too, Miss Dove!" the redhead called out cheerfully. "And thanks again!"

Blake smiled at her softly. "Yes, thank you so much," she agreed.

The elderly woman sighed contentedly as she regained her seat. "The pleasure was all mine, dearies," she murmured at the closed door. "Now, let's see, what's next on the list…"

* * *

 **A/N:** Just a short little drabble today to get our Ladybug fix in. Kintsukuroi is actually from Japan and primarily has to do with ceramics, but I love the idea and it fit in well with the theme for the story.

Next in the series should be another North Pole tale, though I'm still trying to determine the timing of it… The story I have in mind would work better set in the future closer to graduation, but that doesn't mesh with the continuity of the _Lemonade_ series. Maybe I'll just make it a separate standalone…

Whelp, thanks for reading yet another of my fluffy drivels, number twelve so far! Please drop a review and let me know what you thought of it. Shout-out to **TacoKing23** who reviewed _Strawberry Lemonad_ e, glad to hear you've been enjoying the reading so far!

Oh, and in case you're new to it, here's the list of stories contained within the _Lemonade_ series timeline:

 **Pink Lemonade  
** **Just A Little Ladybug  
** **North Pole Weather  
** **Snow Angel  
** **Sweet, Sweet Lemonade  
** **Ladybug Trails  
** **Trifecta  
** **Yuletide Lemonade  
** **Eros  
** **Lotus Song  
** **Strawberry Lemonade  
** _ **Ladybug Stitches  
**_ **North Pole Mirror  
** **Fallen Ladybug  
** **Sugar Rush  
** **North Pole Faith**

Stay shiny!


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